Author: admin

Texas Wildwood Originals- E.O. “Ted” Hemenway-My love for wood started in junior high making the usual cutting boards, key holders, etc. Later I confiscated my dad’s lathe and started turning bowls. In the last ten years this has progressed to tables, beds, unique hall trees and side tables (made from the trunks of large trees) and countless other unique home furnishings. Many of the ideas for these have come from my wonderfully creative wife, Becky. Thank you Dear!

As time passed I started listening more to the wood. I realize this sounds a bit odd but stay with me. The majority of my work has a “rough edge”, meaning it retains part of the original/natural edge of the wood. For me it serves as a reminder of where the wood came from and what it looked like in its natural state while still revealing the incredible beauty inside. As I carve into each piece, the wood tells me what direction to take next. Every time I’m amazed to see what is deep beneath the bark of a tree.

The wood I use is from ranches in Texas. I use many different species including cedars, walnut, hack-berry and my favorite, mesquite. The ranchers seem to despise mesquite and think its only value is for firewood and cooking. I have quite a different opinion. This wood has infinite character. There are knots, cracks worm holes, and a nearly endless variety of colors and grain variations that make it the most beautiful wood in Texas! I invite you to come and experience (see AND touch) the beauty that lies beneath the bark.

Sculptural Assemblages-Dwain Kelley-Discovery, Almost all of these works are grounded in the unearthing of another time. Using a palette of old wood, metals, gold leaf, cloth, glass, rocks, or new materials aged to emulate the look of another time-I’m attempting to re-create the excitement of discovery I felt as a kid reading about the discovery of Machu Picchu in Peru by Hiram Bingham in 1911, King Tut’s Tomb in Egypt by Howard Carter in 1922, uncovering the history of the first native Americans or the countless other archaeological discoveries from around the world. I hope that as you experience these works they will reignite some of this excitement and wonder every time you look at them.

Strength is what remains-regardless of how wood, metal, glass, rock or cloth have been ravaged by the elements, nature or man-what survives is the strongest part. To me, incorporating these pieces into a work of art makes a genuine, lasting statement.

Lots of little children had a great time at the Weatherford College Safe Halloween! Thank you to all who stopped by the Doss Booth and congrats to Isaiah Jimenez and Rachel Paradowski for winning the Pillow Pet Prizes!!

https://www.asbonline.com/givingback/ Please go vote for the Doss! You can follow the link or go by American State Bank and vote! You can vote once a day until voting closes on Nov 10! Thank you Parker County!

Thank you to our Stamp & Seal Ladies that help with our mailings! We couldn’t do it without our volunteers! If you think this is something you would like to help us with we can always use more volunteers!

As the newest member of the Doss Heritage and Culture Center team, I am both honored and humbled. Weatherford is a thriving community; one that is rich in both culture and history.

While many of my law school contemporaries took a more traditional career path, I chose one of philanthropic serivce within the nonprofit sector. Prudent allocation of resources and funding stewardship are just a few of my guiding principles. I have had the privilege of implementing funding initiatives in the form of grants, annual funds and capital campaigns.

The Doss Heritage and Culture Center already possesses a rich history and cultural presence both in and around the Weatherford Community. My goal is to expand this presence throughout the state. Through the development of relationships and public discourse, both locally and state-wide., I hope to create broader support in furtherance of our mission “to collect, preserve, and exhibit the heritage of Parker County and Texas.”

Community support is perhaps the most integral part of the Center’s success. In the coming months, my ambition is to forge new relationships and further cultivate existing ones within Weatherford and surrounding communities. Donor constituency, program development and volunteer initiatives are just a few of my focus areas.

Come visit us at the Doss Heritage and Culture Center Today! You’ll be glad you did!

In a called meeting Thursday evening, the Board of Directors of Weatherford’s Doss Heritage and Culture Center named Heather Castagna its executive director, completing a four-month search that Board President James May described as “extensive and comprehensive.”

Selected from more than 144 applicants from across the United States, Castagna impressed the search committee with her “skill set and personality,” said May. “Heather has everything we were looking for – enthusiasm, experience, business management acumen, passion for her work and the ability to make things happen. She is a straight-forward person who is not afraid to forge into unknown territory.”

The search committee made its recommendation to the 14 DHCC Board members present (two were absent), and the vote was unanimous in favor of hiring of Castagna. A reception was held earlier in the evening for both the DHCC Board and its parent board, Civic Development, Inc., to meet Castagna, who made a detailed Power Point presentation to the group of board members and DHCC staff, outlining a business plan for DHCC educational programming and fundraising, as well as development of more comprehensive marketing and membership and volunteer initiatives.

A native of Lubbock, currently residing in west Fort Worth with her husband Kevin and two daughters, Haylee and Holland, Castagna spent several years in restaurant and retail management in both Maryland and California before coming back to her Texas to complete her education. She earned a doctorate of jurisprudence from Texas Tech University School of Law in Lubbock; her bachelor’s degree is in communications and public relations from Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls. Prior to moving back to the Metroplex, Castagna owned a recycling business in Lubbock.

Castagna’s professional background also includes extensive experience in the non-profit sector, having raised more than $3 million in annual fund and capital campaign fundraising for All Saints Episcopal School in Lubbock. Prior to that, she was the training manager for the Institute for Litigation Studies in Plano, responsible for administration of grant funds.

“I believe I am a great fit for the Doss Center,” Castagna said. “When I first read the job description, I knew that I had the skill set to help take this beautiful place to the next level. I am excited and eager to get started and learn all I can about the Doss and the community it serves.”

Our Mission

The mission of the James and Dorothy Doss Heritage and Culture Center is to collect, preserve, and interpret the history of Parker County through cultural and educational events that raise community awareness and pride in our western heritage.